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Hot Wheels - Car of the Day !!!

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  • Hot Wheels - Car of the Day !!!

    "Mattel entered the miniature car diecast market in 1968 with an assortment of 16 cars sold under the name "Hot Wheels." The company specifically set out to design a product that could compete head-on with other diecast car lines, of which the leader was Matchbox, produced by Lesney Products in England.

    The cars were an instant hit with not only boys, but girls and adult collectors alike. They were painted in bright, reflective colors, referred to as Spectraflame by Mattel. Most of the cars were based on popular American muscle cars that had not been well represented by other manufacturers. The cars were raised or "raked" in the back for the "hot rod" look, which was a popular trend in California at the time. All of the models had some additional customizations, such as side pipes, custom "power bulges" on opening hoods, customized engines, and detailed chassis (bases), with black vinyl or painted roofs. All Hot Wheels cars could also be easily recognized by their stand-out wheels which sported chrome hubs and red lines (reflecting another popular look at that time). Collectors refer to the early Hot Wheels cars as "Redlines" for this reason.

    The cars were originally listed in the 1968 catalog as being available in two colors each. When sales exploded, that quickly changed. All of the cars for 1968 have been found in at least nine colors, and for some models, as many as 16 different colors are known. There are also variations of some colors that expand the colors available to 20 or more.

    All models from 1968 were manufactured in both Hong Kong and the United States. The country of origin, the vehicle's name and model number, the Hot Wheels logo, and a copyright date appear on the base of each car. The copyright date can be used to date cars from this period. This is usually, but not always, one year prior to the car's introduction into the lineup."

    The Ultimate Redline Guide by Jack Clark & Robert Wicker



    Every kids dream in 1968 was to have the 12-car Rally Case and all 16 cars.
    I'm going to post up a car every day, as often as possible, starting with the first year of issue in alphabetical order.
    Post up your pictures, memories and dreams ...


    1968
    Beatnik Bandit
    Custom Barracuda
    Custom Camaro
    Custom Corvette
    Custom Cougar
    Custom Eldorado
    Custom Firebird
    Custom Fleetside
    Custom Mustang
    Custom T-Bird
    Custom Vokswagen
    Deora
    Ford J-Car
    Hot Heap
    Python
    Silhouette

    Spectraflame Colors
    Aqua
    Blue
    Brown (varient: Copper)
    Gold
    Green (varient: Seasideer Green)
    Lavender (collectors prefer Rose)
    Light Blue (varient: Ice Blue)
    Lime (called Antifreeze by collectors)
    Light Green
    Magenta
    Olive
    Orange
    Pink (varients: Hot Pink, Creamy Pink & Salmon Pink)
    Purple
    Red
    Yellow

    They were packaged in a "blister pack" along with a collector badge.




    My cars from 1968-70 in "played with" condition.



    Some of my buddy Dave The Bartender's collection.



    The "King Kuda" Club car from 1970
    (there was also the "Heavy Chevy" & "Mustang Boss Hoss")





    Dave The Bartender's Mustang Boss Hoss Club car.




    Dave The Bartender's collection has the original 48-car Collectors Case and he still has lots of awesome orange track.




    A few of my lunchboxes with a thermos from 1969.




    Last edited by Monster; December 5, 2011, 06:20 AM.

  • #2
    Beatnik Bandit
    The Beatnik Bandit is one of only two cars issued with a "bubble" canopy window roof in 1968 and was so popular that Mattel kept this model in the line from 1968 to 1971. This car was based on the late Ed "Big Daddy" Roth's show car of the same name and is one of those models that almost everyone can easily identify as a Hot Wheels car.

    Here is my car in Red.






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    • #3
      I think I had all of them when they first came out.
      Loved the Silhouette and later the Lil Coffin (but they named it something stupid).
      Act your age, not your shoe size. - Prince

      Comment


      • #4
        Crap,
        my mom threw out my whole collection when I went in to the service in 1975, thinking I was too old to play with them. I even had the Hotwheel case that looked like a custom wheel. Nuff said here.
        I still play with hot wheels, they just got bigger and more expensive
        When life hands you lemons, go get a ice cream cone!

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        • #5
          I buy my boys hot wheels, and buy an extra one and put it away in the garage, so when they get older and they lost their hot wheel, there will be one waiting for them still in the box.

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          • #6
            im getting ready to part with a LARGE portion of my hot wheels collection to pay for my photography hobby, im keeping my rare and hard to find stuff

            so if theres anyone interested in something, or looking to expand thier collection lemmie know

            yea ive basically ran out of room, this is a portion of the important stuff that i keep in a climate controlled environment

            Last edited by BOOOGHAR; July 2, 2011, 09:41 AM.
            Charles W - BS Photographer at large

            Comment


            • #7
              I had the purple El Camino, a green Nomad, the Cougar, The VW Bug, the Paddy Wagon in black, The Boss Hoss Mustang, The Red Baron, the twin engined rod, and a red funny car. If they were in mint condition, I could have a nice down payment on a house. I hear the Bug was worth as much as$15,000. Ugh.
              BS'er formally known as Rebeldryver

              Resident Instigator

              sigpic

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              • #8
                I have mountains of them. As far as the very early ones, Ive got the T-bird the Eldorado the AMX and a bug and Fire chief car i think its a Fury.

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                • #9
                  Custom Barracuda
                  One of several muscle cars in the lineup, it was based on the 1967 Plymouth Barracuda two-door fastback coupe and the hood opened to reveal a detailed engine compartment.

                  This model is very popular with collectors and unfortunately, I can't find mine and DTB does not have one in his collection either.

                  I did however, locate the original badge that came with the car in the blister pack.

                  If you have a Barracuda, post it up !!!


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                  • #10
                    I still have one of those Silver ones...
                    I think it had to be sent away for.
                    gail
                    That awkward moment when you realize it IS your circus and those ARE your monkeys!

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Anybody remember these? The front opened up like an aligator's mouth and held a dozen or so Hot Wheels, Matchboxes etc. I got mine for Christmas when I was 7, wish I still had it.

                      Click image for larger version

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                      Just groovin' to my own tune.

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                      • #12
                        that case is from Johnny Lightning, they sponsored Al Unsers Indy car

                        Charles W - BS Photographer at large

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                        • #13
                          That JL case is awesome, I had never seen it before.

                          Dave The Bartender did have a Barracuda and finally sent me a pic ...

                          Last edited by Monster; July 13, 2011, 04:40 AM.

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                          • #14
                            Hot Wheels are groovy... I have a couple thousand dollars worth of "HO scale" stuff that I bought several years ago, including a drag strip, timing tower, grandstands. lotsa little people, houses, factories, stores, movie theatre, etc... Originally had plans to shoot video of the stuff and add sound (produce something that's Adult Swim oriented or something like that) -- ya know, try to do something creative, anyways, then kinda got sidetracked with the music stuff... Although hopefully will have the opportunity to get back into the "Ho scale" world at some point in time and get something produced...
                            http://www.DragRacingUnderground.com

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Custom Camaro
                              This model is based on the 1967 Chevrolet Camaro two-door sports coupe, was issued with or without a black roof. It ran through 1969 and had an opening hood that conceals a detailed engine compartment. Models with doors and trunk outlined are less common and are usually priced 200% higher.

                              We are not getting a good start at this, because the last I saw mine, it was missing two wheels and most of the paint and I couldn't locate my badge either. Also, couldn't find one in DTB's collection either !!

                              This one is currently for auction on FeeBay starting at $1,100 !





                              Here is a pic Dave The Bartender sent of his Camaro car, but I believe it is actually the "Nitty Gritty Kitty".

                              Last edited by Monster; July 16, 2011, 05:31 AM.

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